Carage door



March 11, 1930. B. B. HOOVER 1,750,042

' GARAGE DOOR Filed April 23, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 a a ,3? 20 A? Brooks5. Hoowr INVENTOR ATTORNEY March 11, 1930. B, .5, HO VER 1,750,042

GARAGE DOOR Filed April 23, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z2 ll, /2 Wqd Brad/rs5 Hoower ATTORNEY March 11, 1930. B, B, HOOVER 1,750,042

GARAGE DOOR Filed April 23, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 firmlm E fiaayaz"INVENTOR WITNE s; ATTORNEY s W QM..-

Patented Mar. 11,1930

UNITED STATES BROOKS 1B. HOOVER, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS GARAGE DOORApplication filed April 23,

This invention relates to doors, and its general object is to provide adoor primarily designed for garages and the like, that is retainedagainst casual movement when in 5 either its opened or closed position,with the result it cannot under any circumstances be blown oraccidentally moved to closed position when opened to obstruct thepassage of vehicles and the like through the doorway.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door that is movableto its respective positions by being raised and lowered, and is somovable in an easy and expeditious manner with very little effort.

Another object of the invention is to provide a slidable door movable invertical, inclined and horizontal planes and includes counter-balancingmeans that decrease and increase in weight in accordance with thedirection of movement of the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door that is movable ontracks shaped to cause the door to move towardand away from its frame toprovide a tight connection when closed and to space the door to avoidfriction and premature wear when being opened and closed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a door of thecharacter set forth, that is simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to install and efficient in operation and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters vdenoteylike orcorresponding parts throughout thef i;.several secured to the side postsand 1s dlsposed 1n spaced relation with respect to the face trim views,and in which: v

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a door structure constructed inaccordance with my'invention and showing parts in section and brokenaway.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken approxi- 0 mately on line 2-2 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

1928. Serial No. 72,244.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken a proximately on line 6+6 of Figure3, loo ing in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 7-7 of Figure3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is a sectional View taken on line 88 of Figure 1 looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 9 is a similar view showing the arrangement of the weights whenthe door is in raised position.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 1010 of Figure8, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 11 is a perspective View of one of the weights.

Figure 12 is a sectional View taken approximately on line 1212 of Figure1, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing parts in full anddotted lines.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of one of the hanger brackets for thetracks. I

Figure 14 is a similar View of a modified form of bracket to be usedwhen double doors are employed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral'l indicatesthe face trim of a door frame constructed in accordance with the presentinvention, 2 the outer trim,

and 4 the side posts of one set, and 5 the er trim which as shown inFigure 5 is 'to provide a recess to accommodate the door when the latteris in closed position. construction is duplicated upon opposite sides ofthe frame as will be apparent as the reces 'ses accommodate the sideedges of the door.

The door includes an upper and lower see- This tion indicatedrespectively by the reference numerals 6 and 7. These sections may beconstructed in any well known manner but it is preferred to have thelower section formed with panels and the upper section with windows, asclearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings.

The sections are secured together through the instrumentality of hinges8, and at the point of juncture, the sections are recessed to providetongues 9 to be received in the recesses as shown in Figure 12, so thata tight connection will be provided between the sections when the dooris in closed position.

The section 7 has arranged adjacent its top and bottom and disposedacross the same bracing strips 11 and 12, while secured across thesection 6 at its upper edge is a bracing strip 13. These bracing stripsare provided with slots to accommodate bolt and nut connections forsecuring the same to the sections and by this construction the doorcannot buckle or be damaged due to expansion or contraction.

The bracing strips are substantially T- shape in cross section as bestshown in Figure 4, and the slots which are indicated by the referencenumeral 14 are formed in the parallel flange ortions thereof as bestshown in Figure 3. gecured to each of the bracing strips and to theoutwardly extending flange thereof are inwardly extending brackets 15which have their free portions terminating in clamps 16 to accommodatebolts 17. These brackets 15 are disposed'at the ends of each of thebracing stri s and secured to the bolts 17 thereof are rol er stra s 18which have their end ortions forme in substantially U-shaped ormation asbest shown in Figure 5. The U-shaped end portions are each formed withregistering openings which accommodate bushings 19 having mounted forrotation thereon substantially grooved rollers 20.

The openings of one of the U-shaped ends also has secured therein andpassing'throu h the bushing thereof the bolts'17, while t e companionU-shaped ends has secured therein for accommodating the bushin thereofbolts 21. 20 are mounted in companion pairs with the rollers of eachpair being disposed in spaced relation.

Secured to each of the inner trim pieces 5 is a plurality of hangerbrackets 22, and similar hanger brackets 23 are secured to the ceilinbeams 24 and depend therefrom as best s IOWII in Figure 2. The hangerbrackets are substantially L-sha and have their free ends reduced andfixed y secured in tracks 25 and 26 which are arranged to be received inthe grooves of the rollers 20 as best shownin Fi res 2 and 4.

0 tracks are curved intermediate their ends to provide a verticalportion and a hori- By this construction, t e rollers.

Arranged on one side of the door frame is a weight chamber 29 havingsecured to the inner surface of its side walls Vertically disposedstrips 30 which are notched in step formation as best shown in Figure 8.These notches which are indicated by the reference numeral 31 providestops for the weights 32.

and the weights are formed with openings 33 through which pass thelooped portions of a cable 34. The lowermost weight has threadedlysecured in its openings sleeves 35 to accommodate the cable as bestshown in Fig ure 8.

Secured to the top of the weight chamber is a pair of grooved pulleys 36through which the cable is trained, and this cable is also trainedthrough pulleys 37 and 38. The pulley 37 is secured to one of theceiling beams arranged at one side of the door frame, while the pulley38 is secured to a ceiling beam arranged at the other side as shown inFigure 1.

The ends of the cable are fixed to the sides of the bottom of the lowersection 7 through the medium of clamping members each of which include across sectional T-plate 39 and a cross sectional'U-bracket 40, securedto the lower sectionthrough the medium of bolt and nut connections 41 asbest shown in Figures 3 and 4. The T-plates have their outer portionsrounded as at 42 and these rounded portions are hollow and extendoutwardly beyond the flanges 43 of the plates.

The rounded portions receive the ends of the cable andthese ends arepassed therethrough and are also disposed through the U-brackets 40which clamp the same in contacting engagement with the rounded ortionsas shown in Figures'6 and 7. Eac of the U-brackets 40 is provided with arounded de ression to accommodate the ends of the ca le.

The weights with the exception of the uppermost weight, are eachprovided with recesses 44 in their ends for the purpose of receiving thestrips 30 for slidable movement, and of course these recesses vary insize, the lowermost weight being formed with recesses of a size wherebyit can gravitate to the bottom of the weight chamber while the otherweights are received by the shoulders formed by the respective notchesas best shown in Figure 11. The upper weight is supported upon the topsof the uprights when the door is in its raised position, but when thedoor is in its lowered position each of the weights are disposed incontacting engagement with the sleeves 35 passing through the openings33 thereof as shown in Figure 8. The weights are also each provided withresilient pads 45 so as to absorb the shock when the weights cometogether as well as to prevent excess noise with the result the door ispractically noiseless in its operation.

In Fi re 14 I have illustrated a modified form of a hanger bracket whichis indicated by the-reference numeral 46 and this form of bracket isemployed where it is necessary to use double doors, as in this instance,four tracks will be utilized and the bracket as shown in Figure 14 willbe used in numbers to support a double track'which will be arranged inthe center of the doorway as will be apparent.

From the above description and disclosure of the drawings it will beobvious that I have provided a door that is adapted to be raised andlowered when moved to its respective closed and opened positions, andthe weights assist in moving the door whereby it can be operated in aneasy and expeditious manner with very little effort.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advanta es andnovel features of my invention will e readily apparent.

I esire it to be understood that I may make changes in the constructionand in the 3 combination and arrangement of the several parts, providedthat such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A door comprising a pair of hingedly 40 secured sections, bracingstrips secured across said sections in a manner to allow contraction andexpansion thereof, brackets secured to the ends of said bracing strips,roller straps carried by said brackets, grooved rollers arranged in airsand mounted in said roller straps, trac s receiving said rollers formovement thereon and being curved intermediate their ends to providevertical and horizontal portions, hanger brackets for supporting saidtracks, said vertical portions being bent to move the door toward andaway from its frame when the door is being dis osed to its opened andclosed positions, a ca le secured to one of said sections and acounterbalancing means carried by said cable.

2. A door comprising a pair of hingedly secured sections, bracing stripsformed with slots and being substantially T-shape in cross section,means for securing said bracing strips transversely of said sections andbeing arranged in said slots, brackets secured to i the ends of saidbracing strips and including U-shape portions, grooved rollers journaledin the U-shaped portions and disposed in oo- 65 operation pairs, tracksreceived etween the rollers of each pair and being disposed in thegrooves thereof, a cable havin its ends secured to the lowermost sectionan adjacent the lower edge thereof, and a counter-balancing meanscarried by said cable.

3. door comprising an upper and lower section hingedly secured together,bracing strips secured across each section in a manner to allowcontraction and expansion thereof, brackets secured to the ends of saidbracing strips, roller straps carried by said brackets and includingsubstantially U-shaped portions, grooved rollers arranged in pairs andjournaled in the U-shaped portions, tracks for said rollers includingcurved portions and being disposed between thepairs thereof, clampingmembers secured to the sides'of the bottom of the lower section, a

cross sectional T-plate included in each clamping member and havinghollow rounded portions, U-shaped brackets secured about the T-plates, acable having its ends passed through the hollow rounded portions andclamped between the U-shaped brackets and said rounded portionsrespectively, and a gcfunter-balancing'means carried by said ca- Intestimony whereof I aflix my signature.

BROOKS B. HOOVER.

